Year: 1979

Designer: Unknown

Beautifully spacious design and well balanced composition. The bleached out and hugely iconic image of the bridge scene, conveys the unique New York atmosphere perfectly. This poster makes me want to be there, eavedropping on their conversation.

Year: 2011

Designer: Mark Carroll 

I love the stark minimalism of this design. The texture made by the crumpled sheets could actually have made this quite a beautiful image but it's marred by sickly green cast. It really conveys the bleak reality of the movie. Another wonderfully simple concept.

Year: 1979

Designer: Unknown

The high contrast image says all you need to know about this movie. Powerful.

Year: 2009

Designer: All City Media

Beautifully simple concept. It reminds me of Vertigo and definitely echoes the madness inherent in the film.

It's been a very good year for design books with Five Simple Steps and A Book Apart releasing some of the best and most relevant titles. It looks like I'm a bit of a fanboy of both these publishers, but the truth is that both continue to release concise and digestible books unlike the 400 page titles of dry code and programming theory of other publishers. 

The big web design trend of 2011, cue heavenly chorus, 'Responsive Design', was well tackled by Luke Wroblewski...

This was my bible for many years, a book I keep referring back to. Even though I design mostly for the screen, Josef Müller-Brockmann is still the master.

I had previously read Introducing HTML5 by Bruce Lawson, so I knew the main details and issues surrounding HTML5 implementation. When I heard Jeremy Keith was writing a book, I was excited, as I found him to be an incredibly engaging writer.

This book is a quick breakdown of the most important features of HTML5. What it isn't, is a thorough reference guide.

It is a great introduction for beginners, as it is brief and concise. I'm not entirely sure how much...

Tom Southwell was the production illustrator on Blade Runner, one of the most visually stunning films ever made. He created some amazing pieces under the direction of Ridley Scott. Scott being a former Art Director, kept a close eye on everything Southwell did.

Southwell...

Imaginary Landscape, John Cage. Part of the Music Pioneers Series.

Year: 2008

Designer: Akiko Stehrenberger

This close up, (is it real or is it photorealism?) of Naomi Watts face creates an indelible impression and her fear is palpable. The off center and odd framing of her face adds to the rising tension on repeated viewings. Strangely beautiful.

Year: 1927

A true classic of poster design. The colouring is beautifully done and I love the placement of the central characters.

Lux Aeterna, György Ligeti. Part of the Music Pioneers Series.

Isaac Newton spoke of having stood on the shoulders of giants. Richard Feynman tried to stand on his own.

I've been enjoying Khoi's blog posts on web grid theory for years and was pleased to see that he has combined these into a relatively short book. Being a sometimes jaded designer, I find his philosophy and process inspiring.

As the title suggests, Ordering Disorder talks about how grids can make you a more efficient and well tuned web designer. Using a grid system as part of your regular design process is immensely powerful and Khoi breaks down the process of...

When I was a teenager, I heard a piece of music that struck me immediately. The piece was played at amazing speed, but had a quirky quality.

I had heard Bach through my dad, so recognised the piece that was playing. It was Bach's Goldberg Variations and it was played by Glenn Gould. I was fascinated and had to find out more.

A documentary was released last year called "Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould'' that went some way to explaining the man behind...